The Anglican Church of Canada has taken a step that, until just a few years ago, would have been difficult to imagine even within the most progressive Christian denominations.
Its General Synod has authorized for “trial use” a specific liturgy intended to accompany people who have chosen euthanasia, known in Canada as Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD). The document includes prayers to be read immediately before the fatal drugs are administered, as well as prayers after the patient’s death.
The 66-page text goes far beyond offering pastoral guidance for terminally ill patients. It establishes a complete set of religious rites adapted to the moments before and after euthanasia: confession, the laying on of hands, anointing with oil, Holy Communion, blessings, and specific prayers for those who have chosen to end their lives through medical intervention.
The introduction acknowledges that many Anglicans believe euthanasia “may indeed be against God’s wishes for humanity.” Yet rather than attempting to resolve that theological question, the stated purpose of the resource is to provide spiritual accompaniment to those who have made that decision.
The document repeatedly insists that it is not intended to bless the decision to seek euthanasia. Nevertheless, critics are likely to question whether surrounding an assisted death with Scripture, blessings, sacraments, and an official Church liturgy inevitably lends it moral legitimacy.
One of the most striking passages states that people who choose euthanasia “may indeed be ready to go” and that they wish to “die well, and with the grace and blessing of God and with the presence of the Church at their side.”
The ceremony includes a period of silence immediately before the medical procedure. The patient may then pray: “Father, I place myself in your hands. Holy God, I believe in you. I trust you. I love you.”
Following the administration of euthanasia, the liturgy provides prayers traditionally associated with the Christian accompaniment of the dying. Among them is the petition: “Welcome them now into paradise where there will be no more sorrow, no more weeping or pain, but only peace and joy.”
Another prayer states that the deceased has been “freed from all its cares” and asks God to grant them “happiness and peace forever.”
The text goes even further in some of its supplementary materials. One prayer gives thanks that family members were able to be with the deceased when they received the lethal injection and concludes that “their final gift to N was to see N safely home.”
The decision places the Anglican Church of Canada in an unprecedented position within historic Christianity.
The novelty does not lie in the Church accompanying a person in their final moments—something that has been part of Christian ministry for centuries—but in the creation of an official ritual for a practice that Christian tradition has long regarded as incompatible with the belief that human life is a gift from God and should not be deliberately ended by human hands.
The liturgy has been authorised for trial use while feedback is gathered from dioceses across Canada until May 2027. A revised version could then be presented to the Church’s General Synod in 2028 for possible permanent adoption.
